abstract
This article revisits the issue of identity in the artistic work of the composer Elomar Mello. I investigate Mello’s views on the “sertanejo” (hinterland) identity associated with southern Bahia along with his considerations on modernity, as well as the identities of coastal Bahia. I am especially interested in showing how Elomar Mello’s work translates the process of symbolic demarcation of cultural differences. This central concern leads me to deal with the geographic differences within Bahia’s territory, as well as with the specific meanings commonly attributed to both modernity and the hinterland (“sertão”). In the end, I show how the identities and world views about modernity and hinterland are amalgamated to the extent that both are part and parcel of one single symbolic terrain.
Keywords:
Elomar Figueira Mello; “sertanejo” identity; modernity